


In Defense of Transformative Work: How Fanart/Fiction Empowers and Why Everyone Who’s Not doing It, Hates It

by EmilliaGryphon



Category: All fandoms, Essay - Fandom, critic - Fandom, fanculture - Fandom
Genre: Critique, Essay, Fan Art, Fanfic, Nonfiction, Other, fanfics, keep writing, transformative work, your work is important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-26 13:18:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15001715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmilliaGryphon/pseuds/EmilliaGryphon
Summary: This is not a work of fiction. This is a critical piece about transformative work and why it is RADICAL!





	In Defense of Transformative Work: How Fanart/Fiction Empowers and Why Everyone Who’s Not doing It, Hates It

**Intro:**

The only thing that terrifies society more than girls/LGBTQ+ and Non-Binary people is them embracing, expressing and exploring their identity sexual and otherwise. Transformative work, or Fanart/fanfiction allows young women and people who are not cis-het men to do just that. The demographic of fan-culture that has received the largest backlash and hatred is that of fans who write fanfiction and create fanart. 

There are three main reasons for why popular culture hates on fanart/fiction and yet how these same reasons empower people of color, women, non-binary, and LGBTQ+ people:

1) Sexual expression, exploration and embrace,

2) reclamation of patriarchal spaces online,

3) creative control and community.

Young people who engage in transformative work-like any other group of people outside the realm of fan boys who dare share their opinions and creativity- receive a multitude of threats, harassment and public shame. This is due to fear. Engaging in fandom culture breaks barriers of gender expectations, it gives freedom to draw and illustrate, paint and write in ways that are alternative to what we have deemed as being “acceptable.” Girls, LGBTQ+ and other non cishet men who write and draw fanart and fanfiction do so primarily for free and open sharing, (how’s that for resisting patriarchal capitalism?) and for that we hate it.  But guess what? Transformative work is not going away, nor should it.

**Sexual Expression, Exploration and Embrace**

 Fanart and fanfiction is often thought of as immature, badly drawn or written pornography. Aside from the fact that no, not all fanart/fiction is sexual, these transformative works are done usually for free and allowed to be circulated throughout the online community for others to enjoy. Why is it so accepted for men to view and engage in pornography that involves a multitude of truly terrifying acts of violence, pedophilia, but it is so inexplicably wrong for adolescent girls to freely create sexual works of art and fiction by and for each other?  We punish them greater than the former. If a man watches porn it is widely accepted, or if it’s not accepted it is at least not vilified, but if a person who is not a cis-het man writes a story about two male characters who develop a relationship and have sex then we ridicule her and tell her she is the one who is morally corrupt and needs to change. People have been essentially writing pornography for each other for free, for decades. Even if it doesn’t involve sex, fanart and fanfiction are freely shared creative works and creative expressions that are openly consumed. These types of works aren’t just fun pastimes, it’s radical.

Fanfiction and fan art provides a platform for people who do not typically see their experiences represented in popular culture to explore and express these sexual desires, feelings, and conundrums. The communal nature of fanfics and fanart result in online and in-person communities where young women can talk with one another, share, joke and ask questions. It allows for this exploration without receiving any sort of physical harm in the real world. In a society and culture that already polices sex and desire, fanart/fiction breaks free from this. Sexual creativity without the physical awkwardness. One might go so far to venture that writing and drawing these types of work can be healing for those who have been survivors of sexual or other physical trauma who dare to explore this emotional intimacy but are not ready yet to engage in the physical. This sort of creation also allows people who would otherwise be shamed for their sexuality to embrace these natural, healthy feelings! It is liberating to be able to engage with your sexuality in a variety of ways, including writing and drawing! Paying attention to the emotions you have as you create, how you feel about your story, about your characters and their situations. In this way these creations can be educational as fangirls explore what healthy/unhealthy relationships are through their OC’s.

As it is noted before, not all transformative work has to be sexual by any means. Yet it still allows for emotional expression (often dramatized), yet still beneficial, especially to people who have been marginalized or do not see themselves reflected in popular culture who are forming friendships and navigating very real drama in their lives with their friends, crushes, parents or anyone else. Fanart and fanfiction gives them a chance to freely work through these things and share these stories with others. What better way to tease out real life scenarios then through fiction with familiar, already established characters?

**Reclaiming Patriarchal Platforms**

 The internet has long been, like most places, a space for cis-het men. From pornographic sites to trolls on Twitter men dominate the internet and woe betide any woman who dares express herself or her opinions. Yet spaces such as Fanfiction.net, AO3, Deviantart and other sites that comprise mostly of fandom culture typically have a higher ratio of women. Through fanart and fanfiction sharing sites women and girls are claiming their own space. Carving out a place for themselves in an otherwise patriarchal institution i.e. the internet. These sites have lower rates of harassment then sites like Twitter or Facebook. With pop-culture and the entertainment industry still largely male dominated these online communities of transformative works are being reclaimed by young people who are not cis-het men. The culture around these platforms is communal and largely supportive with writers exchanging their work and giving feedback, sometimes just sharing compliments.

  **Creative Control and Community**

Movies, books, TV shows, comics and the like are slowly changing to be more inclusive of diverse voices, but a majority of them are still produced by white cis-het men. The online community of fandom however, breaks away from this. Girls/women, LGBTQ+, Non-binary and people of color are taking control of these creative enterprises, these stories and characters and re-interpreting them to fit their experiences, their desires. Transforming them and retelling them in a way that resonates with themselves and others who share their experience. The act of reimaging these troupes, modifying them and then producing creative, different and more diverse stories as a result is a radical act. It is 2018, everything is political. Producing fanart and fanfiction and building a community around these reinterpreted archetypes of heroes, villains and adventurers is political. Seizing creative control is a radical act, especially in the hands of those whose voices have been oppressed and marginalized. If the creations of main stream pop-culture does not speak to you, as it has not spoken to people of color,  LGBTQ+, women, or others-than taking control of them and shaping them to speak to a more diverse crowd subverts power dynamics and changes the landscape of pop-culture. It fosters small but vital communities that take off and gain popularity. This creative control breeds change, and hopefully, a large-scale shift away from such a narrow narrative into a broader basis for storytelling and imagination in Hollywood and beyond.

**Conclusion**

Taking pop culture and transforming them into something that is more representational and reflective of diverse experiences is fucking radical. It is an act of resistance against a society that shames and condemns anyone who outside of the narrow cis-het patriarchal identity.  Fanart and fanfiction are fucking radical. Be proud of your creations, don’t hate on fangirls or any fan who reinterprets beloved movies or books. Spread community and support! I found my creative voice through fanfiction. That is nothing to be ashamed of. Fan culture has been around for many, many years and it ought to stick around for many, many more. Furthermore, transformative work has always been what shapes, reshapes and changes the mainstream media. Artists constantly give their own unique spin on pre-existing media. Allowing people of all genders, colors and sexual orientations to express and explore their sexuality through creative means is not something to be criticized or shunned, rather it should be encouraged as healthy and appropriate. Everyone should be able to freely form a supportive creative community around them of like-minded people and patriarchal platforms of the internet should be continuously subverted and challenged by more diverse and inclusive spaces. Creativity is for everyone. 

**Author's Note:**

> Cis= Identifying by the gender prescribed to your sex at birth. i.e A person who is born with female sex organs and identifies with as having a female gender
> 
> Het=Heterosexual
> 
> This piece is inspired by the original article on Vox Featured here:  
> https://www.vox.com/2016/6/2/11531406/why-were-terrified-fanfiction-teen-girls?utm_campaign=vox&utm_content=entry&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
> 
> Also check out the "Stuff Mom Never Told You" podcast episode on Intro to Fanfiction: https://www.stuffmomnevertoldyou.com/podcasts/intro-to-fan-fiction.htm
> 
> This is a ROUGH DRAFT of a longer piece I am hoping to actually publish! PLEASE CREDIT EMILIA GRYPHON IF YOU SHARE THIS POST!


End file.
